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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. chest — of your body
  3. toast — bread
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. degree — temperature
  7. court — of law
  8. bulb — for light
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. chest — a box
  12. court — of a king
  13. tear — from crying
  14. march — the month
  15. tear — from crying
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. court — for sport
  18. chest — of your body
  19. march — music
  20. deal — to handle
  21. march — the month
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bulb — of a plant

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com